ShopTalk: The Business of Graphic DesignWednesday, April 18thThe University of Tulsa School of Art | Phillips Hall Room 301

Join local design heroes Justin Johnson (More branding), Jeff Savage (Savage Design) and Sarah Neal for another vivid discussion! This time we will be chatting about the buisness of graphic design, covering a wide range of topics that include: self promotion, pricing, staying competitive, the future of the industry, etc. What’s even better, free lunch provided by the University of Tulsa’s School of Art! Don’t miss this great opportunity to ask the tough questions and see what the professionals have to say. This is the stuff you won’t learn in school friends! We hope to see you there.

Michael Bierut studied graphic design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. Prior to joining Pentagram’s New York office as a partner in 1990, he was vice president of graphic design at Vignelli Associates. His clients at Pentagram have included The Council of Fashion Designers of America, The New York Times, The Museum of Arts and Design, United Airlines, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Harley-Davidson, Princeton University, the Morgan Library and Museum, Saks Fifth Avenue and the New York Jets.

He has won hundreds of design awards and his work is represented in the permanent collections of museums around the world. He has served as president of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and as that organization’s national president. He is also a board member of the Architectural League of New York and New Yorkers for Parks. For the last ten years he has been a Senior Critic in the graphic design program at the Yale School of Art, and a senior faculty fellow at the Yale School of Management. In 2002, Michael Bierut co-founded Design Observer, a blog of design and cultural criticism: today, the site is the largest design publication in the world. In 2008, he was named winner in the Design Mind category of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.

How it works: Get a 4×4 wooden block from us. Take that block and get artsy. Return that block to us. Join us for the Block Party February 9th at Living Arts Gallery where your block will be the star of the show. All blocks will be silently auctioned the night of the block party. The funds raised will be awarded to exceptional art students during our Graphex 43 awards presentation.

Artists donating a block to be auctioned will get in free. Awards will be given to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place blocks and also for the highest bidding block. Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be available.

The Hunt For New

In the beginning of the season, we asked you to “chase the new.” Now, we’re on the hunt for new and we won’t stop until we find the best. So, give it a shot and enter your best new work in Graphex, our annual regional creative competition for students and professionals.

Last year, we awarded $5,000 in student awards. That’s cold hard cash, kids. And this year isn’t any different. We hope to award the same amount to the new kids on the block.

Check out the call for entry guidelines on the right and make sure you download the correct pdf. The rules are different for the student and professional competitions. Also, be sure to download you entry and tracking forms, so we can keep things straight. Good luck!

UPDATE: A Very Special AwardThe Raffe Award
Art Directors Club of Tulsa is proud to announce that we are adding a very special award category to our Graphex competition this year. The award will honor a body of personal work produced by an artist in any medium.

The award will be called the Scott Raffe Award, affectionately known as The Raffe.

Scott was an artist known for not only the high quality of his commercial work, but for the passion he poured into his personal projects. He shot Circus Flora and Zoppe, an Italian Family Circus, for 15 years with a different camera and a fresh approach each year.

From 2005 to 2007, Scott traveled all over Oklahoma with friends Carl Brune and Libby Bender to produce the critically acclaimed book, Oklahoma : A Portrait of America. More than 350 of Scott’s visionary photographs grace this ode to his adopted state.

For these reasons and more, ADCT is proud to establish this award in Scott’s name. This will be a permanent addition to the Graphex competition.

Check the box labeled “The Raffe Award” on your entry form. If you’ve already filled out your entry forms and still want to enter, don’t worry. Just enter your information for the award on the back or fit it in on the front somewhere, handwritten on your entry form and add it to your tracking form.

Entries in this category will be due at the same time as all the others: April 17, 2012 at 6:30pm at Littlefield, 1350 S. Boulder Avenue / Suite 500.